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“Relax, just let yourself enjoy it for a few minutes.” He wraps his arms around me, determined to keep me warm and quiet.
So, I give him that, letting the tension in my neck and shoulders melt away as I lean into him, slipping an arm around his waist.
He’s staring up into the night sky. Extending his hand, he points at one particularly bright star. “You see that? The glittering one, just there.”
“Yeah, neat, it shines bright like a diamond, if I may quote Rihanna.”
“That’s our star,” he says, his voice filled with awe.
“Our star?” I glance at him. “Wait…you didn’t do one of those things where you get to name a star or something?”
He laughs. “No, silly. I just meant, it feels like it’s shining for us. In fact, they all do.”
Just then the stars surrounding the larger one begin to swirl in the night sky as they’re all marshalled forward.
“What the?” I squeeze my eyes shut trying to banish the hallucination.
“Mads, you’re missing it,” Sebastian says, drawing my hands away.
The stars keep dancing about, bright little diamonds against a velvety black sky. They migrate together to form the shape of a heart…with an arrow through it.
I clap my hands over my mouth and laugh. “Bash, you did this…how? Oh, my gosh, this is so cool.”
“Shhh,” he shushes me. “Just keep watching.”
The heart appears to disintegrate and fall away but then coalesce to form the word Sebastian, beneath it, the red heart appears, and then finally the diamond lights for my name.
I squeeze his arms. “Sebastian loves Madison,” I look up at him. “And Madison loves Sebastian, very much.”
He turns my chin so that I’m staring at the dark sky again. Under my name the diamond letters form the word, will you, under that, MARRY ME?
I gasp and turn to see Bash going down on one knee. My heart is thumping wildly in my chest as he produces a blue velvet jewelry box. Jesus, is this really happening? We’ve only known each other for three months!
“I chose that proposal theme because I know with every ounce of my being that we are meant to be together as if were written in the stars,” he says in a heartfelt tone as he gazes up at me. “The road ahead of us is going to be rough and challenging with you beginning your surgical residency and my transitioning the business, but this,” he says, opening the jewelry box. My eyes nearly pop out of my head at the dazzling pear-shaped diamond. “Represents our commitment to each other and to the path we’re on. It’s the promise that when we get through this period, we’ll seal our pact with an exchange of wedding vows.”
And just like that, Bash spoke to and addressed all my hopes and fears. There would be no rush toward setting a date, adding tremendous pressure to an already tumultuous time. The ring symbolized a promise, an understanding that we love each other and reasonably expect a future with one another. I think that I can live with that.
When I’m slow to reply he adds, “I just need to know that when we come out on the other side of this, you’re hoping to be with me as much as I’m counting on being with you. That’s what this ring represents to me and to all who see it on your finger.”
Ah, I thought. Thus the timing…so that at tomorrow’s big social event, Bash will be able to introduce me to his inner circle as his fiancée, not some piece of ass he’s killing time with. I mean, I get it, but…
“Bash, you know how I feel about you, and yes,” I say placing my hand upon his. “I very much want a future with you…I just hope you’re not doing this now, tonight, to make me feel better. It’s sweet, but not necessary.”
He smirks. “Trust me, my motives are hardly selfless. You’re a young, gorgeous, intelligent, and funny woman. I want to officially take you off the market to keep Dr. Cooper and all the others off of you,” he says jokingly. “If they don’t get the message from the ring, I’ll personally come to pay them a visit to explain it real nicely.”
Oh, my gosh, is he still on about that? “So, basically, this is your version of clubbing me over the head and throwing me over your shoulder to take back to the cave?”
He shrugs. “Would you prefer the club? It would’ve been a hell of a lot cheaper.”
I snatch the jewelry box from his hands. “Nope, too late.”
He takes the box back and retrieves the ring. He smiles softly as he holds my gaze. He takes my left hand in his and holds the ring poised at the tip of my finger.
“Madison Lynn Graham, will you marry me?”
I stare into his eyes and feel our souls intertwine, mine with his and his with mine. The answer slides effortlessly off my tongue. “Yes, I will.” Someday, I add in my heart.
He rises swiftly and cradles my face in his hands. “Madison,” he breathes my name like a prayer and tenderly kisses my lips. “You’ve made me happier than you can imagine. And I’ll work hard every day to make sure you feel the same.” He kisses me again, with less tenderness and more burgeoning need.
